10...
My wife, my brothers
mom, dad
inhale

9...
That vacation at the beach
three, maybe four years ago
exhale

8...
Saying goodbye to a friend
not knowing it was the last
inhale

7...
My favorite song, country roads
hand swimming through the breeze
exhale

6...
Do I forgive what you've done?
should I forgive, should I forget?
inhale

5...
Sweat beads on my brow
I turn to my brothers
exhale

4...
My hands are numb
knuckles white
inhale

3...
seconds roll like thick honey
do I want this?
exhale

2...
Dear God...
guide us...
inhale

1...
Our last fight...
Our first kiss...
exhale...

Lift Off.

you are birdsong
you are moonlight
you are white snow
you are rippling cornstalks
you are rolling hills
you are the sun setting behind the mountains
you are morning air, and dew
you are a ripple in a quiet lake
you are refracted light in a flowing stream
you are a bed of lilacs warmed by the sun

you are beauty
beauty is you

my eyes hurl meteor metaphors
towards the gravity of your gaze

upon impact, passion ignites poems
in the starlight of your stare

connected in constellation,
we read

the funny thing about time
is the way it grinds your bones to dust
while they’re still sitting in your flesh

we can all feel it,
we pretend we don’t, but we do

you feel it when you wake up in the morning
having dreamt of your childhood
and the sound of your sister’s laughter is still ringing in your ears

you feel it when you look up from a book
and its not your brother sitting in the chair next to you
but a strange fellow with a deep voice
and a nose that looks remarkably familiar

and strongest of all, you feel it when at the dinner table
your mother asks you what you’ve been up to for the past 18 years

see, the funny thing about time
is the way it grinds your bones to dust
while they’re still sitting in your flesh

just the other night, I pressed my palms together
and I called on a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile,
to ask where he’d been

he told me he’d been spending time with my father
because the man really needed some company
without his oldest son to talk to

oh and while I have you, he said,
your mother called
she told me to tell you
that your bed is made, if you ever want to come home

There is an untold story of that night,
when the Trojan Horse won the ****** fight.
There was an unsung hero on the Greek’s side,
by the name of Prisius of the Pride.
He was strong, stronger than the valiant Odysseus.
He was brave, braver than the courageous Menelaus.
The Greeks fought for their lives,
on the very tip of their knives.
Cries of mercy, sorrow, pain filled the night.
Greeks prayed and prayed with all their might.
Then, Prisius came down from Mount. Olympus itself,
with no one but his horse and himself.
He conquered and captured, and at last had Odysseus at his feet.
“Oh! Mighty One, spare my poor life!” cried he in defeat.
Prisius wasn’t cruel, so he freed Odysseus with a solemn vow.
As soon as he freed the lying hero, Odysseus faked a gracious bow.
Then in moment’s notice, Odysseus slit Prisius’s throat
rolled it down the open sea, the head still floats.
Oh! Tragedy befell the town, the death of their only hope
gone out in the open, down the dangerous *****.
Prisisus lies, cold and dead, from an unfair fight.
This is the untold story of that night.

I saw something today and it raised hell and flipped it over
I was walking
and then on the other side of the road,
there was a Mexican lady walking, minding her business, not bothering anybody
and then a kid, some 10 year old child, shouted to her from her window
"Hola!
Como Estas?"
the lady turned around and kept on walking
and that kid yelled
"No ingles?"
and laughed and hid behind her house
then when she came back out again, I stopped and glared at her.
She looked like she was going to say something back, but she just went back in the house.
I was fuming and when I was crossing the road,
I ran to that sweet Mexican lady,
and told her,
"She doesn't know what she's saying ,
ignore her,
Have a beautiful day."
she smiled and it **** made me cry.
She was a beautiful hardworking person.

How she probably works hours and hours
for her kids at home
How she would be a loving mom, hard worker, and a kind hearted too

It was as if God's telling me,
Anna do something.

and guess what,
I will.

For a moment, let's reset our society

VIctoria Secret Models are chubbier,
shorter than 5ft.
and don't have those golden locks with shimmering eyes
nor the perfect skin nor smiles

Yellow and crooked teeth are to be admired upon
chapped lips and no make up is the ideal beauty

McDonald's sells the most exquisite burgers
while Fogo De Chao is frowned upon

Harvard and those Ivy Leagues are
safety schools
and the community colleges have
an impossible admission of 70%
UNBELIEVABLE, RIGHT??

that gardeners and janitors were respected
as the kings of the world
and government and the congress are
to be denied, devalued, and made fun of.

now open your eyes
and hear the cars
and turn on the tv
and smell everything

which one would  you rather prefer???

when you die
  where does the soul go?

back in the soil
to grow out as a beautiful daffodil

up to heaven
to reunite with your loved ones

below the earth
to enter the gates of the Underworld

into someone else's heart
to spread the legacy

when you die,
   where does the soul go?

because I will search every plant, fly up to any distance, dig every grain of dirt,  delve into everyone's heart

to find your soul once more.

9-11-2001

the ugliest numbers

the last minute good-byes

Sudden crash all red and black

Falling bodies thumping agonies screeching

No innocent nor guilty nor black nor white nor asian nor latino

no lines

just the blind eyes of death

fueling getting bigger becoming stronger eating and taking more and more and more and more

subdued quiet memorial

reconstruction better rise of the new

still

when this moment comes

red and black and dead

the ugliest numbers

9-11-2001

She took me in as a stranger
loved me like her own
thought of me as her own
gave everything to an ignorant and rude little girl

She taught me how to chew with my mouth close
she taught me how to recite the months
she taught me how to write perfectly
she taught me how to eat food
she taught me the basic guidelines of BECOMING HUMAN 101

She didn't get anything back in return
didn't ask for it nor expect it
just wanted me to become my best
just wanted me to become the greatest

the little girl became a teen
she started talking back to a person who most cared about her
she became a little snot who thought she was above it all

Yet, for everything she ever did to me
she altered my life
she changed my destiny
so
this is for you which words are inadequate to express
this is for you for every tear drops and heart breaks I gave you
this is for you who has no vanity whatsoever but truly, genuinely wishes the best for me
this is for you
one person in this world who I believe embodies the word Perfection
this is for you whom words i love you are inadequate

this is for you...